Fred Gives His Top Films of 2009

I’ve already fudged the top 10 format by having two ties, but I never play by the rules anyway so I’m okay with that. I decided not to put This is It on because as well made as that film was, what was really awesome about it was the performance it captured. So there’s my concession. If you’re wondering though, it would have been number two had I included it.

Top Films of 2009

10. The Final Destination – We were instructed not to review this film which was silly because the intended audience loved it. More so, it’s just exactly what you want from a Final Destination film, still strong in part IV and even exceeding the gimmick of 3-D.

8. Crank: High Voltage – I missed this in theaters but when I finally got to see it, I couldn’t believe what I was watching. I can’t believe Neveldine and Taylor got away with putting this content and this style in a film. I don’t know if they’ll ever convince a studio to make another one, but I’m so glad this exists.

3. Fast and Furious – I so wanted to make this number two because it’s just so unapologetically awesome, but I did have to recognize some artistic merit up top so I hope making this number 3 is controversial enough.

2. Precious/The Messenger – See, I can agree with the hype sometimes. Precious is artistic, experiential and honest. This is how problems occur, with no self-righteous pretense. It makes me want to help people. And The Messenger is just the essence of what drama is all about. Find a situation where any possible solution has difficult consequences, and go. It doesn’t have to be current and relevant to work as drama, but it happens to be what’s going on for real.

1. (500) Days of Summer – I should add to my existing review that I got dumped the day after I saw this movie, and I was okay, because it was just part of my own 500 days of Summer. It would have been the best movie of the year anyway, but there’s proof that it works.